Very Best Of Ray Charles, The - Ray Charles > Reviews > Hit The Road Jack...

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Ray Charles Greatest Hits  !
Disadvantages:	?

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

"As long as I can remember, music has always been something extraordinary in my life." Ray Charles

On September 23, 1930 a star was born. This star is to blame because I'm writing a review about his music today…Ray Charles Robinson.
I think everybody knows who Ray Charles is, or at least saw the recent movie about his life, Ray…

Ray Charles
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Ray was born in Albany, Georgia and grew up in Greenville, Florida…maybe his childhood could be a normal happy one if it was not to happen for his brother to die and him to be there to see it. After this unhappy incident, at the age of 6 he started to lose his sight from glaucoma…
At the age of 7 Ray was send to St. Augustine School for the Deaf and Blind where, besides learning how to read and write in Braille he took piano, clarinet, and saxophone lessons…
After he left school, Ray wanted to work as a musician, and so he did. He played with many bands, different styles of music; but his real career started in 1949 when his first hit was released "Confession Blues" (initially released as by "The Maxin Trio", this being the name of the band he formed)… After this success many other came, such as: "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand", "I Got a Woman", "Unchain My Heart", "You Are My Sunshine", etc…

The life of Ray Charles was something amazing for me…in his music life he was full of success and everybody loved him, but in his personal life he was a mess…he was addicted to heroin, thing that almost killed him and at one point on his career almost destroyed him. He was arrested a few times for drugs possession, but this didn't made him to stop…he struggled for 20 years with his addiction for heroin. But this was not his only problem; he was addicted to women too…he was married twice and both times he divorced…this didn't stop him to have other relations…so as a result from all his relationships he ended up having 12 children.

Ray Charles had a life full of events…but amazingly a long one, despite his drugs problems and he continued to shine through decades having hits after hits and concerts after concerts…
Sadly he died on June 10, 2004 in Beverly Hills, California, of liver disease. But he will live forever through his music…

The Very Best of Ray Charles Album
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Originally released in 2000, this album has 16 tracks which are the very best ones…
In 2005 the same album was re-released on the market with the same songs but sorted on the CD in a different order…

The album is just great, has in order hit after hit, a delight for the ears of those who love Ray Charles style…
He is the soul singer who helped shape the sound of rhythm and blues and brought a soulful sound to everything from country music to pop music…and I think this album proves it!

1) "Georgia on my mind" - is the first song on the CD, which was released in 1960. This song became his first No. 1 pop hit and as a result made him win 2 Grammies. The voice of Ray and the violins are making this song to be like milk and honey getting together…
But this song was written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell, and still nobody know for sure if this song was written about a woman or about the state…but Charles took it and sang it just because his driver told him it would be a good idea, and he did so, after all he was coming from Georgia, so this song was fitting his roots…9/10 (3:38)

2) "Unchain My Heart" - is one my favorites; it was released in 1962 and reached the top ten, both pop and R&B. Charles is singing about a woman who won't let him go, and that he wants to get free…
Accompanied by his Raelettes and by his longtime saxophonist, David "Fathead" Newman, the song gets out beautifully…10/10 (2:51)

3) "What'd I say" (parts 1&2) - was released in 1959 and has a pretty funny story…one night after he performed his program on a night club, willing to leave, he was stopped and informed that he still has some minutes to perform and that he has to continue singing…so what Charles did was something amazing! He told his bands and his Raelettes: "fallow me"…and because he needed time to improve his lyrics the song starts on a Latin influenced drum beat and keyboard riff for about 1:33 and after he starts to sing…the chorus are repeated by the Raelettes…Somewhere in the middle of the song, the people that are listening his performance they get involved too, asking for more…just amazing!
This song the way is made and the way was composed made me love it more than all the other…10/10 (6:26)

4) "Hallelujah I love her so" - it is a very cheerful song, it is about "the girl next door" that which he says he loves her so much. This song was in the top 5 in 1956, and it was representing Charles' first tentative into the lucrative pop-crossover market. Ray's rumbling piano intro is sky-high in sanctified drive before the horns enter, brisk and bright; the rhythm of this song it's an invitation on the dance floor, so take your partner and do as it is asked! 10/10 (2:32)

5) "Hit the road Jack" - is my No.1 song! I love this one so much, and I have to confess that is my favorite line to say when I'm angry too and I want to be left alone…This song has been the across-the-board chart-topper in 1961, and it was one of the reasons why Ray won a Grammy Award. The way Margie Hendrix sings the choruses makes her sound like she is imploring him to "hit the road"…but what makes more spicy this song is the way Charles replays, more like shouting than singing - desperately - imploring the woman not to send him away because he will change…at least this is what he is promising…but how can she listen to him when she heard this lines so many times before?!?! :- P 10/10 (1:57)

6) "I've got a woman" - is another big hit…the song got to be on the R&B top as a No. 1 in 1955. Because had such a great success, Elvis Presley had it as a cover on his RCA debut album the following year. To be sincere, I don't like it so much…I don't know why but this song when I listen it gives me the impression that Ray was an opportunist and he was taking advantages from the woman he says it is his "baby"…Maybe I get it wrong, but what can I say it is the way I understand it…8/10 (2:54)

7) "A fool for you" - gives me spine-chilling…the pathos that gets out from the notes of this song makes you believe that Ray Charles has the heart broken. This song was for a long time in the peak of the R&B top in 1955; I can say that "the dance of his finger" on the piano keys gave this song the "perfect perfume" to wear when your heart is broken. I cry all the time…but I really feel happy to sing it to you even though I can not have you anymore…these are the words that are coming into my mind when I'm listening to this song….10/10 (3:07)

8) "Drown in my own tears" - it is another sad song; Ray Charles is more moaning rather than singing it, but as he knows how to do it, gets out a beautiful blues which makes your soul dance. Even though lets you a bitter-sweet taste, it is a pleasure to hear it over and over again. Drown in my own tears, was not written by Ray, Henry Glover is to blame for this smashing hit which was released in 1952 first time. But in 1956 Ray broke all the myths and brought out the very best of this song in his original way, and once again he had another No. 1! 10/10 (3:20)

9) "(Night time is) The right Time" - again another song that was not written by Ray. The song was originally done Nappy Brown in 1954 and was revised by Charles, who is helped in the song by lead Raelette Margie Hendricks. The sound of this song is almost the same since it starts till it ends…what makes you to pay attention to the song is the part where Margie starts to "squeeze" her voice in such a way that makes you curious to find out what she's saying; I really can say that this Raelette has a fantastic voice, she's really doing a fantastic job! This song got to be the No. 1 on the R&B singles chart, but only No. 90 on the pop singles chart. 9/10 (3:23)

10) "Sticks and stones" - was a tailor-made follow-up of "What'd I say", which came out in the summer of 1960. The lyrics are not something so special, in fact are very simple, and Ray is singing about how the peoples are gossiping and are trying to separate him from his girlfriend…but he does not care about this and he will never do something that he is being told to do, worse he is complaining of being abused. I like very much the short part where you can hear only the piano…8/10 (2:13)

11) "One mint julep" - paced the R&B chart at the beginning of 1961. No lyrics in this one, just a simmering instrumental treatment. Ray tried to show that he didn't forget from where he is coming and he proved out to the world that not only his voice can make his songs spicy, but more than this his fingers with the help of a Hammond B3 Organ can do miracles. 9/10 (3:03)

12) "I can't stop loving you" - the love song that reached the No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B chart for 10 weeks, and Pop chart for 5 weeks going gold, the Grammy Award was justified. The lyrics were written by Don Gibson, that originally he is writing and singing country songs, but this one was far away from being a country song. This song is so different from the other ones which Ray is singing, his voice is so smooth and it is like he is singing a story on musical notes…if you are not in love you can get in love after you listen the lyrics…10/10 (4:12)

13) "You are my sunshine" - originally this song was sang by Jimmie Davis, somewhere near 1940; Ray took the song and transformed it in his own style, singing it in a duet with his No. 1 Raelette Margie Hendrix and as a result of this fantastic work, this song topped the R&B hit parade in 1962. I like this song for a simple reason, Margie's voice; she is fantastic, when she sings her part makes you forget that Ray is singing too and the instrumental arrangement completes her and makes the song to be a cut above the rest. 10/10 (3:00)

14) "Busted" - another hit which was released in 1963, was in both R&B and Pop tops and Ray won his third Grammy Award. Ray is singing without his Raelettes, but I can say that the horns are the "backup voices" for this one. Ones again he's voice is very smooth, no high notes for this song, his "story" it is expressed calmly as nothing was such a serious problem; after all the lyrics of the song are about how he got to be broke and not having any solution or possibility to solve out this problem. Ray tried with this bitter-sweet story to make people smile, and in my opinion he did a good job. (I'm smiling all the time when I'm listening to this song) 10/10 (2:11)

15) "Let's go get stoned" - was No. 1 in July 1966, and Ray had made some changes. Because the times were changing, his style needed something new, something that had to improve and in the same time to positively help his music to be on the top. The churchy organ it is like salt for this song, compiles the sound with the nice lyrics which are played by Ray in his original way, and the backup voices of the Raelettes are adding that little extra which makes you listening this song over and over again. 10/10 (3:03)

16) "Seven Spanish Angels" - a fantastic duet performed by Ray Charles and Willie Nelson. The lyrics for this song are written by Eddie Setser and Troy Seals back in 1985. This country song is the story of two people that are killed by the Texans, I think it is related to the times when it was the Spanish-American War; so the story says that the man didn't wanted to be taken back in Texas, better he will die…so he launched him self in the battle of the guns and died, because his lady loved him so much, she took his gun and prayed to God to forgive her, but she couldn't live without her man; "And she knew the gun was empty/And she knew she couldn't win./Her final prayer was answered,/When the rifles fired again." So the seven Spanish Angels took the souls of this two with them…
This song it a very nice country ballad, me I love it…the performance of this two great singers makes this story to be so real and so touchy…10/10 (3:51)

Inlay Details & Price
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The CD comes with a small intro; all about Ray Charles career and from which albums are coming all this songs compiled on this album. This small intro has some black and white photos of Ray and some small paragraphs where he is explaining how music changed his life and what made him to choose this road.

This Album can be found on:
- ebay.co.uk £5.99
- amazon.co.uk £6.97
- All Records £11

Final Opinion
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I have this CD since 2001, I bought it from All Records, and I'm listening to it almost each time when I'm feeling down. I don't know why but I think the voice of this great man makes me feel better. Maybe he was not such a great example in his personal life, but in his musical life for sure he was and still is an inspiration. Even though music changed and will change in the future too, even though singers are coming and leaving, the music that Ray Charles did and played/sang will always remain, because even if he died in 2004 he's still alive through his music.
This album did came out to be a very good idea, to have 16 hits on a single CD at such a low price I think it is more than a great deal. This music it is very relaxing and if you like oldies then don't hesitate to buy - The Very Best of Ray Charles - album.
If it was long review and bored you than I have to apologize, but each song came from one specific year and had a small story…which I hope I wrote it as short as I could and it was helpful. About Ray Charles and his songs they are so many other things to say…but I kept it short, eh not that short but neither that long…

Thank you for reading x

Sincerely,
cam3lot

…and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more : -)